Good Reads

Books Set In North Wales

Six weeks ago George Travis was living quietly in North Wales in the UK – keeping himself to himself, bothering no-one, walking and birdwatching in his spare time. Now he’s on the run: wanted by the police, vilified in the national press, and hiding from a man he thought was his friend. In desperation, Travis seeks help from a woman he has met just once, hatching a plan that will lure his tormentor out into the open. But to make the plan work he has to stay one step ahead of the police, the press and the man he eventually comes to know as Yr Hen Was, ‘The Devil’.

Played out against the stunning backdrop of the North Wales mountains, this is the story of how one man strikes back against people who misuse the media to distort facts, exploit innuendo and ruin lives. Set in 1999, it foreshadows many of the real-world smear campaigns, scams and scandals of the following decade, raising questions about how the internet and universal access to the Web will change the way we process information, the way we view the world, and ultimately, what we believe to be the ‘truth’.

What can happen when an ordinary member of the public’s mobile phone is hacked?

A student has been murdered in North Wales and the press are hounding her landlord, Gareth Evans. Peter Gray, a reporter, sent up from London to cover the story, tries to protect his ex-colleague Gareth, but becomes embroiled in a murderous plot.

Craig Fletcher, a drugs runner, wants retribution. He plans to torture and kill James Ryan, the man he believes tried to have him killed six years ago and who is now running his former drugs empire in the north-east of England. Fletcher’s plot involves the abduction and murder of IT worker Travis Williams, whose disfigured body in a burnt out car will keep James Ryan’s men off the scent while Fletcher exacts his revenge.

But in its bid to be first with a ‘new angle’ on the murdered student case, a tabloid paper conflates the two stories and the result is confusion and chaos. As the body count rises and the journalists, the local police and Travis’s acquaintances, Nick Parker and Ann Butler, try to work out what is really happening, the race is on to find the location where innocent people are being held before more deaths are added to the list.

Their intense experience over three long days drives many involved to question some deeply held assumptions and re-examine their consciences. Ultimately, in various different ways, nearly everyone caught up in the media frenzy becomes a victim of press intrusion and phone hacking.

Other Recommended Reads

The Mists of Avalon: One of my favorite books of all time. It has greatly inspired and influenced my own writing. I first read it when I was 17. I pulled an all-nighter, continued reading when the sun came up and finished it around 8:30, just in time for breakfast.

The Darkangel Trilogy: Another one of the best books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. This story has elements of science fiction, fantasy, friendship and of course, dark and complicated love.

The Vampire’s Daughter: The Vampire’s Daughter is a book in a blog’s body. You can read it for free! I’m not normally drawn to stories about vampires, but this one pulled me right in. It’s different, darkish in parts and is recommended for adult readers.